


Can I get a puppy?

by firewasntmadetobeheldinhumanskin



Series: Monsta X sunny summer fic bingo [5]
Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Alternate Universe, Amnesia, Attempt at Humor, Brotherly Love, Comfort No Hurt, Epic Friendship, Gen, Light Angst, Monsta X Bingo, Protectiveness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-23
Updated: 2016-09-28
Packaged: 2018-08-10 16:44:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7853053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firewasntmadetobeheldinhumanskin/pseuds/firewasntmadetobeheldinhumanskin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All it takes is a crazy lady and a bunch of ashes to change all of their lives forever.<br/><b>alternatively:</b> it’s all Gunhee’s fault, really. Changkyun had nothing to do with it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Note: never again let Gun take the leadership. Like. Ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a proud mom, indeed u-u  
> There's no pairing, but some will probably be implied?  
> idk, to be honest, I'm just rolling with it because I love the idea of de-aging one of them lol
> 
> Hope you like it, though! <3
> 
>  
> 
> yes I'll write all of the other prompts from the bingo ~~who needs a life anyway~~ and I rEGRET NOTHING  
>  also, my tests have just started, so updates will probably be slow for a while

"I want to go out."

Gunhee's half whined statement makes Changkyun look up from his book. Minhyuk's sitting on the carpet, using the center table to do a project for his Visual Arts college. Jooheon's sprawled on the couch, videogame control on his hands, playing like there's no tomorrow. Hyungwon's sleeping, Kihyun's out doing grocery shopping and only god knows where's Hoseok.

"What?"

"Go out." Gunhee says again, not bothering to look up from his lying spot at Minhyuk's side.

"Like, to drink?" Jooheon speaks up, but his eyes don't leave the TV.

"I don't know."

"Hyunwoo will be back tomorrow." Minhyuk decides to pop up on the talk, and Changkyun hums in agreement. "We could wait and then go out with everybody."

"But I want it today." Gunhee whines, childish. "I'm bored. It's been a week that Hyunwoo's out and we did absolutely _nothing_ while he was gone."

"Nobody wanted to burn down the house or be arrested before he came back." Changkyun observes. The older gives him a pointed look. "I mean, you know how he is. Don't kill each other while I'm out, don't try to show your cooking skills on my kitchen, etcetera."

Gunhee scrunches up his nose.

"It's not my fault Wonho can't cook for his life!"

Minhyuk sighs. Jooheon rolls his eyes. Changkyun puts down his book.

"Okay."

The other three look at him immediately. Gunhee's eyes are wide and hopeful.

"Wait, like, seriously?"

"Yeah, I don't see why not."

Jooheon groans.

"Don't go by his crazy head, I.M. You won't even know what hit you before the shit's already made."

He ignores Gunhee's offended 'Hey!' and Minhyuk's laughter. Changkyun smiles at them and shakes his head playfully.

"Why don't you come with us, then?"

"Uh?" Jooheon actually pauses the game to look at him. Changkyun considers it as a victory ― the older's one of the hardest people to let go of the videogame when someone's talking to him.

"I mean, then you can keep an eye on Gun." he shrugs, ignoring Gunhee's complaints about how everyone's against him and how that's completely unfair. "To make sure he won't put himself in trouble."

"To make sure he doesn't drag _you_ down with him, you mean." Jooheon winks. "I'm in."

Gunhee's actually happy to have people to go out with him, so he's smart enough to stop any snarky remarks that must be going through his mind from escapring from his lips. The three of them immediately stare at Minhyuk, who shakes his head in disbelief.

"No way. Not everybody's irresponsible like you guys – no offense, Changkyun –, and I need to finish my project anyway."

Jooheon rolls his eyes again. Gunhee mutters 'workaholic' under his breath. Changkyun nods comprehensively. Minhyuk looks at him with fake suffering features.

"Good luck with these two, you'll need it."

Changkyun laughs it off when both Jooheon and Gun make surprised noises of offense ― something along the lines of 'I'm trying to help here!' and 'You're hurting my feelings, hyung!'.

"I'm serious." Minhyuk shakes his head, but he's smiling too, so it's not a big deal. "Don't let them start any fight, ok? Call me if you need."

"Okay."

It can't be that hard, can it?

 

Changkyun regrets his poor life choices as soon as they reach the nightclub It's too small, too crowded, and he can feel the smell of alcohol by distance. He scrunches up his nose, not happy at all, looking at his friends. Gunhee seems radiant for not being alone, and, although Jooheon seems a little bit bored, his eyes lit up when he notices where they're heading to.

"Is that the club Hoseok told us about?"

"Yup!" Gunhee smiles, full of white teeth, and Changkyun feels a little uneasy. "The one and only."

"You're sure that it's not dangerous?" he asks, because, honestly, with Wonho, you can never be sure about anything. "I mean, I thought we were going to buy pizza or anything, not go to a party in the middle of nowhere."

Both the older males stare at him like a second head had burst through his neck. Changkyun blushes. It's in moments like this that he remembers he's the younger and not the contrary ― that _he_ should be the one doing stupid shit and _they_ should be the ones trying to make him think straight.

Well, not his fault at all. Changkyun doesn't find anything funny about being drunk and doing every stupid decision that comes to his mind.

"It's safe, ok?" Gunhee assures him, and although his smile's a bit forced, there's fondness in his voice, softness in his eyes. "Just don't accept anything from strangers. Not even the ones working at the bar."

Changkyun wasn't planning on drinking anyway, but he's grateful for the advice. Jooheon puts a protective arm around his shoulders, giving him a comforting smile.

"Don't worry about it, we're not going to let anything happen to you."

 

"Remember me that I should never, ever, follow you again, please." Changkyun mumbles under his breath. "And that I should hear Minhyuk more."

Everything was fine until Gunhee decided that he didn't want to lose all the fun of dancing with strangers just because his friends didn't want to go with him; then, he let Changkyun and Jooheon talking in a side table and took something to drink. The younger didn't think anything about it and neither did Gunhee's best friend, because they thought it only meant he was going to drink until he couldn't see straight, make out with a random stranger and then be carried away by both of them to their home ― because it was going to be too late for them to call Minhyuk.

Of course it didn't happen that way.

Gunhee didn't come back after an hour or two and Jooheon started to worry. Changkyun didn't have any other subject that didn't involve his endless books and was starting to get worried as well. He said to the older that they could split up to try and find Gunhee; and return to the table ― the meeting point ― in twenty minutes.

It didn't go well.

"How could I know that there was something in the drink?" Gunhee groans when Jooheon trips over his feet, a pure giggling mess, almost making the three of them fall on the pavement. "He should know better than just take it and drink it!"

"You didn't tell him that it was a gift!"

"It's not my fault he took it without asking!"

Changkyun sighs. Things are already bad enough without them fighting over whose fault it is that Jooheon ended up high. Honestly, he just wants to get back home, make sure his friend is okay and only wake up when Hyunwoo's home again. Hyunwoo'll know what to do.

"I know, I'm sorry."

"I love you, guys." Jooheon grins widely, arms around both Gunhee and Changkyun, squeezing them from time to time. His feet are practically useless and he smells like sweat and candy. "I love you so, so much."

Changkyun feels a little uncomfortable with all this intimacy. Sure, Jooheon's always touchy with his friends, but he actually tries to let everyone ok with it when he's feeling particularly clingy ― drunk, he doesn't seem to mind too much about it, holding on his friends for dear life, all giggles and smiles full of dimples.

"Ignore him, if it will make you feel less awkward." Gunhee tries to push his best friend against him, easing the weight on Changkyun's shoulders. "He got better when we started to hang out with the other guys, I'm used to carrying him around when he gets like this."

"Oh."

The bit of information about his friend's past is a surprise to Changkyun. He's not hanging out with them for this long ― it's been barely eight months ―, but it still surprises him to notice how much they welcomed him to the group, how much they trust him. He never thought about it until now. Jooheon was the first to approach him, known in the rap underground, welcoming Changkyun with open arms, suggesting for them to freestyle together and helping with everything that yhe younger, being a newbie in the scene, didn't knew.

Gunhee was the next, being Jooheon's best friend and not always friendly towards the new member of the group. Changkyun thought at first that Gunhee didn't like him ― it wasn't hard to think so, with the way the boy treated him ―, and everything was awkward for a while, until someone decided to try and mess with Changkyun and Gunhee stood up for him. They never talked about it, but things got better after the older approved him; it was how Changkyun ended up meeting the rest of the group.

Shownu ― or Hyunwoo ―, the professional dancer and their leader on his free hours; Hoseok, model for fun, who likes to fight more than he likes to admire himself in the mirror during the morning; Minhyuk, student of Visual Arts and ocasional voice of reason; Kihyun, who likes to cook and keep the peace in the house, and Hyungwon, who likes to talk about absolutely _everything_ and sleeps a lot.

Changkyun doesn't know what he did to deserve being with people clearly so good to each other, but he's not gonna waste his chance of being part of it.

He's not gonna mess it up.

"You know, it's been a while since I saw him so out of it." Gunhee speaks up again when Jooheon throws his head back, mumbling about stars and how beautiful they are. "They must've put something strong in that – _what the hell?!_ "

Jooheon pushes Changkyun out of the way and stumbles on Gunhee's feet. It's too fast, and all Changkyun knows it's that in a moment he's helping Gunhee to carry Jooheon and, in the next, he's sprawled out on the pavement, the world spinning around him. He can hear Gunhee cursing loudly, Jooheon whining and a feminine voice calling them names and saying something along the lines of how they 'fucked up everything!'. Then, high heels on the floor, and Gunhee shouting words that would make even Shownu blush ― and leave Hoseok proud, probably.

Changkyun tries to sit and whimpers when pain shots up from his head to all of his nerves. Gunhee's at his side in the next moment.

"Everything okay?"

 _I think I hit my head_ , he thinks, but, instead, mumbles 'Yeah, 'm ok'. The older helps him to sit properly, touching his head and shoulders to try and search for any injury.

"What was that?" Changkyun shies away from him, looking at Jooheon, who's still mumbling non-sense, sitting against the wall of a residencial building.

"A crazy lady, I don't know." Gunhee scrunches up his nose. "Jooheon got in the way, actually. She threw something at him and ran."

Changkyun's eyes widen. Gunhee seems to notice his worry and puts a hand on his shoulder, squeezing slightly. It's a comforting act.

"Don't worry. It was just a bunch of ashes, I checked it."

"Love you, guys." Jooheon laughs a little, again, and rubs his eyes. "Love, love, love..."

Gunhee cringes, but Changkyun smiles before trying to stand. The older helps him without any remark about his shaky legs, and they sit each at one of Jooheon's sides; who immediately engulfs both on his arms, singing a friendly song in a high-pitched voice.

"I think we should call Minhyuk." Gunhee mumbles, his head on his best friend's shoulder.

"He'd kill us."

"Call Hoseok, then." the older rubs his fingers against Jooheon's face carefully, trying to clean up the ashes on his skin. "He'd be very proud if we make up a story about an epic fight and how you saved the night."

"By doing what?" Changkyun laughs and Jooheon leans against him, murmuring quietly about wanting a plushie of Wazowski. "We're not even hurt, Gun. He'd know in the moment we stepped inside his car."

"You're a killjoy, buddy." Gunhee's word don't carry any resentment or cruelty. "Want to hear Jooheon start singing Disney songs? You're not going to sleep at night, I guarantee you. Stop talking, start calling."

Changkyun smiles, but decides he doesn't want to test his luck.

He dials Hoseok's number.

*

"Don't let Jooheon sleep in the couch or Kihyun will freak out completely."

Gunhee's statement comes a little too late, as Changkyun already let the older lie on the couch, cuddling himself and not seeming to mind about the ashes still on his clothes and hair. Hoseok rolls his eyes at the mess, barely hiding his amusement.

"Let him sleep, you can clean up later."

"Me?!" Gunhee's eyes widen. "Why?!"

" _Guilty_ is written all over your face." Hoseok smiles sheepishly. "And, honestly, nobody would believe you if you tried to blame Changkyun."

"Ouch." Gunhee puts a hand over his heart dramatically. "You hurt my feelings here, hyung."

Changkyun smiles shyly, unsure about how he should feel. He doesn't know if they're just joking or if there's a little bit of truth in their words. Hoseok notices his awkward staring and smiles softly.

"Go to sleep, kid. Gun and I can take care of this."

He nods, but waits until Gunhee looks and him and rolls his eyes, waving his hands and making a sign for him to do what Wonho told him to. Only then Changkyun smiles and waves goodbye, heading towards his room.

He only wants to sleep and forget this awful, awful night.

*

A scream wakes Changkyun up. He feels his heart hammering against his ribcage, his head spinning. He stumbles out ot the bed and hits his leg on the way, cursing loudly. He meets Kihyun on the corridor ― wide-eyed, paranoid Kihyun, who's probably thinking the worst ― and they share a worried look while running to the living room.

"Jooheon, that's not funny anymore! Come out!"

It's Gunhee's voice, and he sounds distressed. A bad feeling installs itself on Changkyun's guts, and he enters the room already waiting for something ― he doesn't know exactly _what,_ but he waits for it. Certainly, it's not to find the place absolutely clean and Gunhee in the middle of it, looking completely desperate.

Kihyun has confused features when he stares at the boy, rushing to his side.

"What happened? What was that with the yelling?"

Gunhee's pale as a sheet, his lips trembling, and Changkyun fears that he'll end up falling. Kihyun seems to have the same thing in mind, as he holds the other gently and helps him to sit on the couch.

"I woke up early to check him up. I thought – I thought he was probably going to be with a hell of a hangover, you know? And Shownu comes home today. You know how much he hates to find out we did stupid shit while he was out, and I didn't want Jooheon to feel bad for going with me and Changkyun." Gunhee rubs his face in frustration. "But he wasn't – his clothes are here, but he's not, and his keys are on the kitchen? I don't fucking know. If that's just a joke, I swear to fucking god that I'll –"

"Why are you guys awake that early and interrupting people's sleep? Are we killing each other yet?"

The three of them react at the same time, looking up to find Hoseok leaning on the wall that leads to their rooms. He's only using boxers, his hair's like a bird's nest, eyes red from the lack of sleep and features twisted in anger. He surely as hell looks like he could kill someone.

Kihyun's still confused, Gunhee's ready to freak out completely. Changkyun really doesn't want to keep testing his chances like that, so he decides to explain.

"Jooheon's missing." he says.

Hoseok doesn't even blink.

"His keys –"

"Are on the kitchen." Gunhee interrupts, inhaling slowly. "I checked all the others. The only one that's not there is Hyunwoo's."

The idea for every one of them to have a different key to enter the house was from Minhyuk; he said it'd be useful in case someone wanted to know which of them was home, and in case someone lost their keys, they'd know who should pay for the new ones. It kind of got official after Shownu started to check out the keys to know if they were all home before four in the morning ― Changkyun wasn't with them yet, but Hyungwon seemed glad to help him to adapt at the key thing.

Hoseok seems to consider the new information, a frown slowly forming into his features. Kihyun rubs Gunhee's back comfortingly and Changkyun feels awkward for not knowing what to do. He never experienced something like this, he doesn't know if they're all losing it because it's the first time that it happens or if it happens from time to time and it means that something's very, very wrong. He doesn't know how he should feel about it.

"Did you call him?"

Gunhee nods, but doesn't seem to find his voice to answer properly. Kihyun presses his lips together in a thin line and, while Hoseok furrows his eyebrows together, pushes the boy closer, giving him a hug. Changkyun shifts uncomfortably on his feet before approaching the bunch of clothes on the floor ― now that he looks carefully, closer, they really are the ones that Jooheon was using yesterday. The phone's on his jeans' pocket, with a thousand missed calls from Gunhee glowing in the screen. A strange feeling boils inside him, anxiety crawling in his veins.

"He wouldn't go out without clothes." Hoseok crosses his arms stubbornly, but Changkyun can see his hands shaking, can notice how his shoulders are tense. "Even if he got out by the window, Jooheon probably took new clothes with him."

"He didn't!" Gunhee pushes Kihyun away, startling the boy, who looks at him with wide eyes. "I cheked it, okay? Twice! There's nothing missing! Not a pair of shoes, not a hat, nothing!"

"Then check it again!" Hoseok throws his arms up. "Check yours, too! There must be _something_ missing!"

"Guys." Kihyun tries to hold Gunhee in place, his voice pleading. "Please, we shouldn't fight, we –"

"My best friend's _missing_ , this asshole's telling me that I just didn't search right, and you're trying to say that –"

"Who's missing?"

Gunhee shuts up immediately. Hoseok pales. Kihyun closes his eyes tight and inhales sharply. Changkyun watches them, Jooheon's cellphone still on his hands, silently panicking. Minhyuk looks at each one of them, confusion and worry all over his features, and, once he fixes his eyes on Jooheon's clothes all on the floor, his lips lose their color.

"Why are Jooheon's clothes on the floor?" he looks at Gunhee first, but, when the boy turns away, he immediately clings to Hoseok. "Wonho? Kihyun? Guys? Where's him?"

Minhyuk's voice is high-pitched, already on the verge of panic, and Changkyun cringes internally. Oh, boy, they're going to be in deep shit when Hyunwoo gets back from his competition ― Jooheon's missing, both Gunhee and Minhyuk are freaking out, Hoseok's angry with the world and it's not even ten in the morning yet.

"We don't –"

" _Guys._ "

Hyungwon's tone is surprisingly frustrated ― it drawns the attention of every body in the room, but he doesn't seem to mind at all. His features are hard, his hair a total mess, but his arms are crossed and he doesn't seem like someone who got out of the bed less than five minutes ago. Changkyun tenses up, already waiting for the other to be mad about Jooheon's disappearing as well, but, in the end, Hyungwon's complaints have nothing to do with it.

"Honestly, I know all of you love children, don't mind me, I love them too, but _why the hell_ did you adopt one? Does Hyunwoo even know about it? He'll skin us alive if he doesn't, and kill all of us if it's somebody's kid." Hyungwon stares at them for a moment, and then his frown deepens. "Where's Jooheon? And why his clothes are all on the floor?"

They all look at each other, completely lost on each other's subject, until Changkyun slowly stands, Jooheon's phone safely guarded in his hands. Hyungwon immediately turns his attention towards their maknae, but Changkyun finds the courage to ask him first.

"I’m sorry but did you – did you say _kid?_ "

Hyungwon blinks, not entirely surprised.

"Yeah. The boy on my bed. Is he yours?" a funny look crosses his features for a moment. "Don't get me wrong, Changkyun, but he looks more like Wonho. I mean, he's barely two feet tall and found a way to claim the whole bed! I woke up with him kicking me out."

Changkyun's legs feel like jelly. He looks at Hoseok and Minhyuk, but the first's squinting his eyes at Hyungwon, and the second's still too shocked to say anything. Gunhee's not any better, seeming almost catatonic, and Kihyun gets the despair on Changkyun's eyes barely a second after the younger looks at him, silently pleading for help.

He clears his throat, breaking the awkward silence.

"Uh, Hyungwon, we – none of us adopted a kid."

The information takes time to sink in. Then, Hyungwon's eyes widen almost comically.

"Then who the fuck is the kid sleeping on my bed?!"

None of them knows ― but they'll need to find out. Fast. Preferably before Hyunwoo gets back home, and with time enough for them to find Jooheon and drag him back.

At this point, Changkyun should know better than hope.

 

"Is he dead?"

"Don't be stupid, he's breathing, look."

"But what if he's, like, a zombie or something of sort?"

"Stop watching fiction before you sleep, man."

"Oh."

"Fine."

"... An alien, then?"

"I'll kill both of you if you don't shut the –"

"His eyes seem a lot like Jooheon's, don't they?"

Gunhee's half stated half asked comment makes all of them shut up. He's staring at the kid almost without blinking since they entered the room ― Changkyun would find it a bit creepy if it wasn't for the fact that he and the other boys are doing exactly the same thing. But, now that he said it... The boy's eyes have exactly the same shape as Jooheon's. His nose's tiny, his lips almost heart-shaped and, when he mumbles and groans in his sleep, deep dimples show off on his chubby cheeks.

The realization hits Changkyun like a punch on his guts.

"Oh, god." Minhyuk voices his thoughts, ' _full panic_ ' written all over his face. "Oh my god, Jooheon has a kid. My – oh, my – Hyunwoo's gonna kill him! Hyunwoo's gonna kill us all!"

"I didn't even know he has a girlfriend." Hoseok frowns. "Or had, whatever."

"Maybe they broke up before she knew." Hyungwon scratches his neck. "It happens, you know."

"Why wouldn't he tell me?" Gunhee doesn't take his eyes off the kid.

It's a delicate subject. All of them look at Kihyun, because he's the less likely to fuck things up, and nobody really wants to leave the boy bitter over Jooheon ― sure, the bastard deserves, for not telling them anything about _having a son_ , but he's still their friend, and they're not leaving him for it.

"Maybe he was scared. Or ashamed. Maybe he thought you were going to judge him."

"I'm his best friend." Gunhee's hands close into fists. "I've known him since he was, like, five. He should've told me."

Changkyun presses his lips together, and Kihyun's at a loss of words. Even Hoseok seems a bit troubled, his shoulders tensing more and more at every moment that passes. Changkyun feels bad.

"We should wait 'til the kid wakes up." Hyungwon suggests softly. "Maybe he'll know where –"

The boy stirs suddenly, whining, and he immediately shuts up. All of them take a step back, eyes wide, almost not breathing at all. They watch in awe while the boy ruffles through the sheets, mumbling quietly, and even Hoseok seems a bit terrified when he sits up, hair sticking up to all sides, eyes slightly puffy from sleeping too much, blinking slowly. None of them dares to breath, even less to try and approach him. Only after a while ― maybe two minutes or so ― the kid seems to notice them staring.

His confused face's _exactly_ like Jooheon's. It's a bit creepy, even if it's cute. Minhyuk's the first to take a step closer, his movements slow under the wary gaze of the boy, and he doesn't try to sit at the end of the bed. It's a smart move, Changkyun notices, because, by the way the boy clutches the sheets closer to his chest, it's not hard to notice that he's scared. Like, _a_ _lot_ scared.

"Hey." Minhyuk's voice is small, almost too soft, but seems to work on the kid, because his shoulders relax a little. "Do you know where you are?"

The boy looks at them again, then takes a good look at the room. His small hands squeeze the pillow he 'borrowed' from Hyungwon and, when he shakes his head in denial, Changkyun needs to resist the urge to hug him. Oh, god, Jooheon's kid is _cute._

"Oh." Minhyuk blinks, surprised.

Well, if somebody let the kid here, the person did a shitty job at telling him that it's his father's house ― and probably his, too, from now on, but Changkyun doesn't want to think about it yet.

"Do you mind telling us how old you are?" Hoseok approaches too, less awkward than Minhyuk, and the boy shakes his head again before smiling proudly at him.

Changkyun hears someone taking a sharp breath at his side, and he's sure that it's Kihyun trying not to pass out. He almost smiles. Almost. Gunhee remains silent, watching the kid carefully.

When the boy holds up two fingers, however, they freeze. Minhyuk pales, his eyes widening. Wonho's mouth hangs open. Changkyun leans on the wall, his legs too shaky to keep him up, and Kihyun groans. But then, before they can start talking again, the kid frowns and adds a third finger. Then, a fourth. Then gets back to two. And five. Four. His scowl deepens.

"He..." Kihyun bites his lips enough to draw blood. "He doesn't know how old he is?"

"Oh, shit."

They're too shocked to scold Gunhee for cursing in front of a child, and even less prepared to deal with him suddenly going straight forward, holding the boy's shoulders and pushing him to see his back. The kid shrieks at the same time that Minhyuk screams and Hoseok yells at him to let the boy go. Kihyun's finally freaking out.

"Stop that! You're going to hurt him!"

"I swear to god that I'll kill you if you do!"

"Gunhee! Let him go!"

Although Hoseok's trying to take him away from the kid by force while Minhyuk and Hyungwon try to free the boy, Gunhee apparently finds whatever he was searching for, his face paling all of a sudden. And, before they finally take the kid from him, he opens his mouth and screams:

" _Jooheon!_ "

Everybody stops at the same time. Hoseok stops trying to punch him, Minhyuk backs off, Hyungwon freezes, Changkyun keeps watching them from distance. Kihyun shuts up, and even the boy stopped screaming, looking at Gunhee with wide eyes instead.

A moment of silence passes before, slowly, Gunhee frees the kid. The boy doesn't try to run away from him like Changkyun was kind of expecting him to do ― but, when Kihyun comes closer, he holds him for dear life, his eyes never leaving the boy in front of him. Hoseok smacks Gunhee's head immediately after, and the younger moans in pain.

" _What was that for?!_ Did you want to scare him to death?!"

Gunhee rubs his head before shaking it in denial. His eyes are still fixed on the kid, but now there's something different on his features.

"He fell of a tree once." Gunhee says lowly, like he's testing the words on his mouth before letting them slip through his lips. "He was four and loved to do exactly what his mother told him not to. It didn't end well, he – he hit his head and his back. He needed stitches later, but the cut on his back didn't heal properly and left a scar on the right side."

Changkyun takes a deep breath and approaches Kihyun and the kid. The boy watches him warily for a moment before switching back to Gunhee. Changkyun ruffles his hair with trembling fingers, barely touching it at all, too scared to try and and take the risk of startling or hurting him. From the angle the kid's lying against Kihyun he can see his back and a big, nasty scar on the right side.

Oh. _Oh._

"Ok, so the kid has four years." Hoseok's eyes stare at the scar for a moment before he turns to look at Gunhee, still too pissed off with him to be able to grasp what the younger really means. "Why does it matter? How the fu – he – _how do you know that?!_ "

It's kind of funny to watch Wonho trying not to curse in front of a child. If it wasn't for the situation, Changkyun and the others would probably be laughing at him.

"Look." Gunhee swallows dry, rubbing his neck uncomfortably. A faint pink takes his cheeks. "That's going to sound really weird, but... Just – hear me, okay?"

Minhyuk pinches Hoseok's sides and they share a look. Hyungwon approaches Kihyun and takes a good look at the kid. Changkyun bites the inside of his cheeks and watches them cautiously. Finally, Hoseok groans and squints his eyes at Gunhee.

"Fine. Shoot."

"I think it's not his kid. It's him. It's Jooheon."

Changkyun barely has time to breath before Minhyuk blacks out.

Oh, well.

And he thought a hangover was going to be the worst of his problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~when it's not wonho's fault it's gun's fault~~  
>  or not
> 
> Any question/request/desire to talk about anything, you can contact me here, [ tumblr](http://firewasntmadetobeheldinhumanskin.tumblr.com/), [ twitter](https://twitter.com/notmadetobeheld) or [ curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/notmadetobeheld) \o


	2. Shownu's dad instincts kick in.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Appa?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yaay I'm back \o
> 
> my tests are over and ~~technically~~ the bingo ended last month and so I'll have +/- 2 weeks free before school comes to kick my ass again. I'll try to update at least twice, but, again, I can't promise anything D:
> 
> Also, about the story, there's a note I'd like to make: is it supposed to make sense? Yes, it is. ~~as much as de-aging can make sense, anyway~~ Is it supposed to be realistic? Kind of. Idk. Saving some drama that's always going on in the background, I just want to write fluff :D  and tiny Jooheon being taken care of/loved, but that's a detail  
> So, ~~probably~~ there won't be a major drama or anything of sort xD
> 
> Anyway \O  
> I hope you have fun reading \O
> 
> P.S.: the first scene's made without descriptions, but it's the only one.

_“You’re crazy.”_

_“I’m not! Look, it makes sense, okay?”_

_“No, it –”_

_“I mean, Jooheon didn’t go anywhere, he couldn’t have gone anywhere, he was too wasted for that. And the kid is basically a copy of him, just, you know, younger.”_

_(“And cuter.”_

_“Shut up.”)_

_“It could be his son.”_

_“No, it couldn’t.”_

_“Gun, look, we know that it’s hard for you, but –”_

_“Fuck off, man.”_

_(“Language!”_

_“Ugh. Fine. Sorry.”)_

_“Changkyun saw how he was last night, ok? Ask him about it, see if I lied about anything.”_

_… “Is that true, Kyunnie?”_

_“I – uh, Jooheon was pretty wasted. He couldn’t even walk straight. I – uh, I doubt that he’d be able to go out today. Unless – you know – unless something happened.”_

_“That doesn’t explain how he’d be turned into a kid, guys.”_

_“Yeah, because it makes_ so more sense _to believe that Jooheon ran away and left a son behind, you know?”_

_(“Ouch. That was harsh.”_

_“You’re not helping, hyung.”_

_“Sorry.”)_

_“That’s not what I said.”_

_“It’s_ exactly _what you said.”_

_“Listen, I don’t need to –”_

_“Guys, stop fighting. You’re scaring him.”_

_“We should ask the kid what he knows.”_

_“He won’t answer.”_

_“Gun, buddy, you’re not helping.”_

_“What? I’m just telling the truth.”_

_“And how the h – how do you know that?”_

_“Oi, best friends, I know him since we were kids, did you hear any of that? Jooheon doesn’t talk to strangers.”_

_(“Isn’t that good?”_

_“Not in this case.”)_

_“But we’re not strangers.”_

_“Yeah? Try to tell him that.”_

_“Then what do we do? We don’t know what’s going on, Jooheon got turned into a four-year old who doesn’t trust us, and Hyunwoo didn’t even get back yet.”_

_(“Don’t forget that Minhyuk’s out cold in the couch, and he’ll get pissed off when he hears about that.”_

_“Thank you for remembering that.”_

_“You’re welcome.”_

_“... I was being sarcastic.”_

_“Oh.”)_

_… “We let him be.”_

_“What?”_

_“Let him be. The more we ask, the more scared he gets. Jooheon will talk to someone when he feels safe enough to.”_

_“And what if he doesn’t?”_

_“He will.”_

_(“How do you know that?”_

_“I just know. Believe me, he will. Just give him time.”)_

 

Hyunwoo was uneasy about going out and leaving the house for a week.

He’s still uneasy about it ― sure, he knows Kihyun wouldn’t let them kill each other, and Minhyuk probably didn’t let anyone do something stupid while he was gone, but Hyunwoo’s worried because he knows how things can get and he’s not entirely sure about what could _not_ go wrong during the time he was busy with his work.

Hyunwoo knows that there’s something wrong in the exact moment he steps inside the house.

His first clue is the silence hanging in the place ― don’t mind him, Hyunwoo likes the quietness, but that’s not something normal around here, so he knows that this is not a good sign. The second clue is the fact that everything is clean; considering that they’re _eight_ guys living in one place ― and Kihyun is probably the only one who gets mad when they let things messy around the house ―, Hyunwoo’s not naive enough to believe they got conscious about it and decided to clean everything up. The third and last clue is: they’re all on the living room, sitting on the couch and on the floor, without talking or trying to kill each other.

Alarm bells start to ring inside Hyunwoo’s mind, telling him to run while there’s still time, but he decides to ignore it ― it doesn’t matter what they did this time, it can’t be _that_ bad. He sighs and puts his bags on the kitchen counter, and the sound immediately drawns the attention of the others. Kihyun’s the first to stand up, flashing him a nervous smile. If it wasn’t for the tension in his shoulders, he’d seen almost _relieved_ , and that’s something worrisome; the others acknowledge him with waves and half smiles, but there’s expectation in the air, like something’s about to happen.

“Hey.” he greets them, and Hoseok’s head shots up almost immediately, something strange on his eyes.

Hyunwoo doesn’t like that. Hyunwoo doesn’t like that one bit. Hoseok, Kihyun, Changkyun, Gunhee… There’s something wrong here. He counts again, his eyebrows furrowing together. Ok. It _may_ be that bad. Minhyuk never misses his homecomings after a few days out of home, and Jooheon’s pretty much the clingiest person he knows ― the duo would never, _ever_ skip a moment like this, unless something serious happened. Hyungwon’s not that much of a ‘family guy’, but he _does_ like to hang out with them a lot, and sleep is not a good reason for him not to be here.

“Where are the others?”

They shift uncomfortably, looking at each other like they’re trying to decide who’s going to tell. Changkyun seems like a deer caught in headlights, and Gunhee scratches the back of his neck uncomfortably.

“Uh, don’t get mad.” he pleads, and Hyunwoo immediately knows that the boy has something to do with the sudden disappearing of the other boys ― honestly, Gunhee’s _always_ involved with everything that happens inside the house, the good and the bad things. The kid’s a magnet for trouble. “We – kind of did something?”

“I did nothing.” Changkyun interrupts abruptly. “Like, really. It was all Gun’s fault.”

Gunhee mumbles a _‘traitors’_ under his breath when Hoseok laughs nervously, and Kihyun facepalms. Hyunwoo’s a bit amused ― how could he not? ―, but he’s still worried, so he decides to ignore that for now.

“Guys.” he sighs, and all four of them turn to look at him. “I’m serious. Where –”

Hyunwoo’s interrupted by the sound of laughter. It’s loud, high-pitched and certainly _not_ from someone he knows. He watches, completely caught off guard, as Gunhee’s face loses its color, Hoseok curses, Changkyun’s eyes widen and Kihyun takes in a sharp breath. Then _it gets worse._

A kid ― small, squishy, _cute_ kid ― wearing a _pillowcase_ appears running _out of nowhere_ straight to _him_ . Hyunwoo’s in awe, blinking slowly and trying to understand _what the hell is going on_ and _why the fuck there’s a child here_ when Hyungwon shows up, hair a total mess, eyes blown wide, with Minhyuk right after him.

“I’m sorry!” he blurts out. “He didn’t stop running and I was so sure I had locked the door I didn’t even –” and only then he notices Hyunwoo awkwardly standing in the room, with a little person attached to his legs. “Oh, shit.”

Minhyuk hits the back of his neck.

“Don’t curse in front of him!” he scolds, frowning slightly, and Hyungwon mumbles an apology. Minhyuk sighs and rubs his face before turning to look at Hyunwoo, a tentative smile on his lips. “Hey. It’s good to see you back.”

The older would love to answer something as ‘ _same_ ’ or a smile, but he’s still in shock, so he only stares, tension slowly crawling into the room. Even Minhyuk ― always smiley, oblivious, caring Minhyuk ― is fast to get the change in the mood, smile turning into something a bit more forced, his shoulders tensing up a little. Hyunwoo doesn’t want to keep looking at them ― their worried, tense bodies making him more uncomfortable than the strangeness of the situation ―, so he looks at the child instead.

It’s a boy, he thinks, with dark curly hair, barely tall enough to reach his thighs. He has chubby cheeks bright red from the run, showing off deep dimples with a smile that is _way_ too familiar for Hyunwoo not to feel confused.

“Uh.” Gunhee clears his throat, a sheepish smile on his face. “Will you be less mad if we explain everything?”

Hyunwoo breathes in. Breathes out. He opens his mouth to answer ― and gets cut off by a childish voice.

“Appa?”

The whole room freezes. Hyunwoo looks down to the little boy clutching onto his shirt, his heart-shaped lips twisted in a fierce pout. When he notices he’s receiving attention, he pouts even more agressively, squinting his eyes slightly.

“Appa, _I’m hungry._ ” he frees Hyunwoo’s shirt only to make grabby hands at him. “Pick me up?”

Hyunwoo’s heart makes a funny thing inside his chest ― from anger or from how _desperately cute_ was that, he doesn’t know ―, and he takes a moment to consider his options before, slowly, reaching out to pick up the little guy, who giggles when he lifts him up.

“You don’t need to –”

“Stop right there.” Hyunwoo cuts off Hoseok, holding the boy carefully. The kid hums contently, surrounding his neck with his arms and hugging him, pressing his cheek against the older’s jaw.

Hyunwoo’s not mad at them. Angry? Yeah, sure. There’s a _child_ in their house, for god’s sake, and no one cared to tell him about it, no one cared to warn him beforehead – and Jooheon’s still nowhere to be seen, so add that to the growing list of worries in Hyunwoo’s mind. But he’s not mad. If he can focus on one problem at time, he can take care of everything.

“We’ll give food to this little guy first.” Hyunwoo ignores how strange the words taste inside his mouth and gives Gunhee a pointed look. The younger visibly pales. “You can explain it to me while he eats.”

Gunhee gives Kihyun a helpless look, and the older nudges him comfortingly.

“Sure, sure, why not?”

Hyunwoo has the impression he’s not going to like that talk.

 

“So, you’re trying to tell me that this kid ― this quiet little child ― is Jooheon ― _our_ Jooheon, twenty-year-old Jooheon?”

Gunhee smiles sheepishly.

“Yeah. Basically – basically, that’s it.”

Hyunwoo blinks before, slowly, turning to look at the tiny boy at his side. ‘Jooheon’ hums happily, a bowl of cereal and milk in front of him, his cheeks so full of food that it makes him seem like a squirrel. He’s so small he barely reaches the table, and Kihyun ― always worried, motherly Kihyun ― sits at his other side, trying to help him not to make a bigger mess. Gunhee’s in front of Hyunwoo, eyeing him expectantly, and Minhyuk’s at his side, probably more for moral support than anything. Hoseok and Hyungwon are somewhere near the sink, sharing a small talk, but the older can feel their eyes on them. And Changkyun’s on the chair crossed to Kihyun, his eyes never leaving the little boy, staring at him like he’s never seen a child before ― but, hey, that’s not so strange because at this point Hyunwoo already accepted that the younger is the weirdest of them all.

He blinks once before turning back to Gunhee.

“That’s the stupidiest s–” both Kihyun’s and Minhyuk’s sharp eyes make him stop to reformulate the phrase. “– _prank_ you’ve ever tried to pull.”

Gunhee’s face falls a little.

“But I’m not –”

“That doesn’t even makes _sense._ ” Hyunwoo interrupts him, frowning right after. “Seriously, where’s Jooheon? And where did that kid came from?”

The boy in front of him gives Minhyuk a hopeless look ― and Hyunwoo would be lying if he said that his best friend trying to pull a prank like that on him doesn’t make him a bit upset. He thought they were supposed to stick together to keep them from doing crazy shit that could cause trouble later. (And kidnapping a kid that looks a lot like their missing friend just so they could tell a bat-shit crazy story involving said friend being turned into a little boy _does_ count as trouble, ok? Ok.)

“Honestly, guys.” he sighs miserably, his shoulders dropping. He’s really _not_ in the mood to deal with any of this attitude; he’s tired, he’s stressed out and he’s finally, _finally_ starting to get angry. “Give that boy back to his parents and tell Jooheon to get back. I’m going to sleep.”

And they _do_ know better than try to make things reasonable when Hyunwoo’s restless ― but the little boy doesn’t. Almost as soon as he’s standing, the kid abandons his food and sprints towards him, tugging stubbornly at Hyunwoo’s shirt and swallowing roughly the cereal he was chewing so animatedly barely a moment before.

“Appa?” the boy calls and _damn,_ he _looks_ like Jooheon, and, if it’s hard to resist the older’s aegyos at twenty-one, it’s absolutely _impossible_ not to give in looking at those wide, confused eyes. “Where are you going?”

Hyunwoo feels out of place, and it takes a moment for him to react. When he does, he crouches down, trying to level his head at the boy’s. Tiny-Jooheon stares at him expectantly, and Hyunwoo’s not sure if it makes his heart warm more than it makes him want to run away and don’t look back. It doesn’t really help that he’s a ‘kid type of guy’, and his soft spot for children is almost bigger than his love for what he does. (If he wasn’t a dancer working his ass off to have a good future, Hyunwoo would _totally_ be a full-time dad.)

“I, uh, appa needs to rest.” he manages to choke out, ignoring how his friends’ eyes burn on his back, focusing on the kid’s instead. The word ‘appa’ has a strange taste inside his mouth, but sends a comforting feeling down his spine. “I’m just going to –”

“Can I go with you?” Jooheon interrupts him excitedly, his features _glowing._

Hyunwoo stops dead in his tracks. He swallows dry and licks his lips a little nervously before shaking his head. The kid’s face falls immediately, and the older already regrets his decision of denying him something.

“But you can stay with your other hyungs, isn’t that ok?”

And, if that’s possible, Hyunwoo feels stupidly _worse_ after asking. The boy’s eyes start to water ― he denies vehemently, his voice high when he talks again.

“I want to go with you!”

Hyunwoo chews his bottom lip, not knowing what to do. Jooheon sniffles, and then ― then the older’s reaching towards him and wrapping his arms around the kid, not able to resist these huge watery eyes any longer. The boy immediately clings to him like a baby koala, hiding his face on Hyunwoo’s shoulder and sniffling again, his tiny fingers curled fiercely around the man’s shirt. The older rubs his back soothingly.

“It’s okay.” he says quietly, because he doesn’t think he can handle crying right now. “You don’t need to cry, Jooheonie, it’s okay.”

The boy nods, but doesn’t look up, and Hyunwoo’s sure that if he keeps talking he’ll end up hitting a nerve and making things worse than he already did. He sighs and tries to reconsider his options, because, apparently, there’s only one choice left: _screw it._ Hyunwoo holds the kid closer, tighter, and lifts him up in his arms before turning back to the guys.

Minhyuk watches them fondly, barely able to hide his amused smile. Changkyun has this awed look on his face, and Hyungwon’s not so different. Kihyun has a strange expression, his features a bit hardened, and Hoseok abandoned Hyungwon’s side in favor of getting closer to him, a comforting hand on his shoulder ― Hyunwoo feels like he missed something here, but he can’t quite put his finger into what. Gunhee’s eyes are fixed on Jooheon’s small frame.

“He’s coming with me.” Hyunwoo declares, though to no one in special. “I don’t know what you did and I’m not sure I even want to. Find his parents, I don’t want to be arrested for kidnapping the boy.”

And then he remembers something.

“Oh, and give the kid proper clothes too. I don’t know how he didn’t hurt himself before, wearing a pillowcase of all things, but we’re not taking risks anymore, got it?”

Honestly, _who the hell_ thought it’d be a good idea to leave a kid with these guys?

 

Once Hyunwoo closes the door to his room, he feels all the stress built in his body finally starting to ease. He sighs deeply, his shoulders dropping, and looks at the little boy resting in his arms, trying to decide wether or not he should ask him about the prank his friends tried to play on him. What’s the possibility of the child knowing what’s going on?

“Hey, kid.” he gently rubs the younger’s back, trying to make his voice as soothing as possible, not wanting to take the risk of scaring him. “You awake?”

It takes him a bit more than two minutes ― with a lot of sweet words and the promise that no, he’s not mad, he won’t ever get mad, please, Jooheonie, answer ― to make Jooheon finally comfortable enough to look at him. His eyes are a bit puffy and his cheeks are tainted a deep red; for almost crying or for shame, Hyunwoo doesn’t know. He decides not to call the boy on it, not wanting to embarass him or make him upset.

“What do you think about changing that shirt?” he runs his fingers through the dark curly hair, and Jooheon makes a noise of appreciation, leaning in to his hand. “Finding something comfier to wear?”

“Uhum.” the boy mumbles while rubbing his eyes sleepily, and it’s so _unbelievable cute_ that Hyunwoo needs to swallow the ‘aaw’ that bubbles in his mouth. “Then we’ll sleep, appa?”

“Yep.” he smiles, not able to stop himself. “Whatever you want, kid, whatever you want.”

Jooheon smiles back, all tiny white teeth and deep dimples, his eyes practically closing with the gesture, and Hyunwoo can’t help but hold him tighter, walking towards the drawers where he keeps his warmest clothes and trying to think of something small enough not to be _that_ big on the boy. (Thinking about it, Hyunwoo’s sure that it’d be the _cutest thing ever,_ but, hey, it’s supposed to be comfy for the boy, not to make it for him impossible to walk and move freely.)

“Do you want to choose one?”

He almost ― the keyword being _almost_ ― regrets asking as soon as Jooheon’s eyes glow in excitement, nodding enthusiastically. But, as Hyunwoo’s a complete _fool_ for children and their cute, immense cheeks, he doesn’t find in himself the will to take it back, resignated with the consequences of his own acts.

He opens the lowest drawers and puts the boy down, sitting close and letting him free to go through the clothes in search for something of his liking. Jooheon moves animatedly, all sleepiness gone, pushing cloth after cloth and, all in all, making a complete mess.

“Appa, appa, I want this!”

The boy’s holding an oversized hoodie, bracing it against his chest happily. It’s the one that Jooheon ― the twenty-year-old Jooheon, of course ― gave him a few months after they met for the first time, during Hyunwoo’s birthday. It’s of an horrid blue, with a smiling face, and Jooheon  said something about ‘Adventure Time’ and ‘Finn’, but the older doesn’t remember exactly what it means. The thing is: the hoodie is big on _Hyunwoo_ ― _‘It’s comfier this way’_ Jooheon told him, with a sheepish smile, after the older stared at the hoodie for a few minutes, confused as to why it was so immense ―, and it’ll be even bigger on the kid.

“Uh, Jooheonie, I think –” Hyunwoo stops himself. He doesn’t want to make him sad again, and he _definitely_ doesn’t want to make him cry. Besides, it’s just a one-time thing, anyway. It won’t cost anything and it’ll make the kid happy ― and that’s all it matters. “Okay. Come here, let me help you.”

Jooheon _beams_ with happiness, approaching with an overly excited smile, and Hyunwoo watches him fondly. Ok, so the boy _does_ seem a lot like their Jooheon ― and he’s not even _trying_ ―, but that doesn’t mean anything, right? Right. Hyunwoo shrugs it off his mind and helps the kid to take off the pillowcase and put on the hoodie. The cloth immediately swallows him whole, and Jooheon giggles, trying to move his hands covered by the too-long sleeves to take off the hood that hides his face.

“It’s warm, appa! And it’s blue!”

Hyunwoo can’t help but smile softly at him, gently running his hands through Jooheon’s hair. The boy smiles back, and it’s wide, childish and _familiar._

“Yeah, kiddo, I’m sure it is.”

(But then, again, maybe Hyunwoo _is_ starting to believe Gunhee’s story, and that’s _not_ a good sign.)

 

“Appa?”

Hyunwoo wakes up to a childish voice and tiny hands poking his face. He has a moment of confusion, blinking non-stop to clear his vision, and, when he’s finally able to see straight, he needs another one to understand what’s going on. There’s a kid sitting on his chest, wearing the immense hoodie Jooheon gave Hyunwoo a few years back, looking _awfully cute_ with his hair sticking up to all sides and toothy smile on his face.

Hyunwoo blinks slowly. Wait. Did that boy just call him ―

“Appa.” the child repeats, pouting right after. “We slept too much. I’m bored and hungry and you do a lot of noise and I want to go to bathroom and I think I heard shouting and –”

The older shuts him up putting a tentative finger on his lips. It works at first, and the boy looks down at his hand in confusion. A second passes. Two seconds. Three seconds and a half. The dark-haired boy opens his mouths and bites him playfully, sinking his small teeth on the man’s finger.

“Ouch!” Hyunwoo recoils with a squeal, more surprised than properly hurt.

The kid giggles.

“Silly appa, silly!”

And it hits Hyunwoo like a truck ― the memories of some hours ago, the kid, Jooheon missing, Gunhee’s bat-shit crazy story and the others agreeing to all of it. _Oh, damn. No way. No. Way. In. Hell._

“Jooheonie?” he asks, carefully.

“Yes, appa?”

“When it’s your birthday?”

Jooheon gives him a toothy smile, not seeming to find the question strange at all.

“October 6th!”

“Favorite color?”

“Red!” and then the boy blinks slowly, thoughtfull. “And white. Does black count? Because it is, too. Can I choose all of them?”

Hyunwoo’s voice gets caught up in his throat.

“Uh, yes, you – you can.”

Jooheon’s smile grows.

“Then all three of them!” and he pokes Hyunwoo’s face again. “Can we eat now, appa? I want cereal again. And milk. Can I have milk? I really want milk.”

Hyunwoo nods slowly, and Jooheon gives him a delighted smile. (Shit. _Shit._ This is really happening. Hyunwoo wants to get back to sleep and only wake up when it’s all solved and he won’t have more problems than usual to deal with.)

“Okay. Do you – uh, do you want to change clothes again?”

The boy gives him an offended look, bracing himself and the hoodie at the same time and shaking his head profusely in denial, almost as if the older has just said something terrible. Hyunwoo finds it quite endearing, if not a bit strange, but decides not to say anything about it, ruffling the kid’s hair instead.

“Then come here, let’s go.”

Jooheon lets him sit and stretch before clinging to him once again, thin arms surrounding the man’s neck, legs on his hips. Hyunwoo should ― he _should_ ―, but he doesn’t even think before holding the boy safely against him, humming in satisfaction when Jooheon nuzzles against his shoulder, seeming even smaller now that the older can wrap all the remaining cloth around him like a burrito.

He _does,_ however, feel strange when he gets out of the room and the house is awfully quiet. He eyes the other doors carefully while walking through the corridor and towards the kitchen, not quite believing that the others are all here yet. (Part of him hopes that, if they’re out, it means that it was all, indeed, a prank, and the kid in his arms _can’t_ be Jooheon and things will make sense again.)

Minhyuk’s the first one he finds, sitting at the table, arms stretched, face buried on his hands. Hyunwoo thinks he seems upset, and immediately feels a bit bad for his own behavior before. He’s about to say something, to ask the other what’s wrong, but Jooheon ends up talking first.

“Appa, why does hyung look so sad?”

The kid’s probably trying to whisper, but, in the quietness of the room, he could’ve said it out loud and the effect would be pretty much the same. Minhyuk immediately looks up, blinking in surprise, and he shares a look with Hyunwoo before the older turns to the little boy in his arms.

“He’s not sad, Jooheonie, don’t worry.” he casually ignores the voice inside his head that scolds him for lying, because he thought exactly the same thing. “He’s just – uh – a bit tired.”

Minhyuk smiles, as if to say Hyunwoo did a good job, but Jooheon doesn’t seem entirely convinced about that. He stares furtively at the blond, shrinking inside the hoodie and hiding half of his face with the cloth when he notices that the other man’s watching them.

“Did I do that?” he asks quietly, though not seeming to ask to anyone in special. “When I was playing with Hyungwonie in the room?”

Hyunwoo sees Minhyuk clutching at his chest dramatically, mouthing a _‘he’s so cute’,_ and can’t help but smile at the sight. He ruffles Jooheon’s hair carefully.

“Nope. But, if you’re so worried, why not talk to him?”

Jooheon considers it for a moment, giving the other man a shy, uncertain look before nodding. Then, he stretches his arms towards the older, silently asking to be picked, and Hyunwoo thinks he’s never seen Minhyuk’s eyes so wide before. The blond’s fast to approach, though, as if he believes the boy will change his mind if he doesn’t. Jooheon wraps himself around Minhyuk just like he did to Hyunwoo before, pressing his head against the man’s collarbones.

“Don’t be sad, Minhyuk hyung!” he asks, childish, so sincerely worried that it’s almost painful to watch. Minhyuk seems close to tears, pressing his chin at the top of Jooheon’s head, holding him tight. Hyunwoo watches them fondly. (But he hopes that his friend won’t cry, because then all hell would break loose, and that would be too much for him to handle.) “I promise I’ll behave, so you can rest and play with us the next time!”

Minhyuk’s smiles and starts explaining that he’s not sad ― and that it’s not because of Jooheon that he’s tired, so they can play anytime the boy wants ―, and Hyunwoo takes the chance to search something for them to eat. Usually, he wouldn’t mind about eating cereal again, but he knows it’s not a healthy meal and he definitely doesn’t want to pass his bad habits to the boy, so he settles in for making pancakes instead.

“Did you two sleep well?” by the tone Minhyuk’s using to ask, Hyunwoo knows the question isn’t meant for him, but he hums in agreement anyway.

Jooheon, however, doesn’t seem satisfied with just nodding, because he starts rambling as soon as he stops moving his head.

“Yes! It was warm and comfy and appa gives the best hugs! But he does a lot of noise, too, and I didn’t sleep again when you hyungs stopped shouting because of it, and it was boring and I got hungry and –”

“Wait, wait, slow down there.” Hyunwoo interrupts, turning to look at them. Minhyuk has a strange look on his face, and Jooheon looks at the oldest of them curiously. “What did you just say?”

The boy blinks.

“You do a lot of noise.” he states shamelessly.

Hyunwoo smiles at that. Minhyuk’s tense.

“Before that, Jooheonie.”

The kid seems lost.

“You give the best hugs?”

It takes all of Hyunwoo’s willpower not to squish his cheeks. If Minhyuk wasn’t so worried, he sure as hell would be amused.

“Nope, before that.” seeing the way Jooheon scrunches up his nose in confusion, Hyunwoo decides to clarify. “About your hyungs.”

The boy’s face lights up.

“Oh. They were shouting a lot and I woke up.” he pouts slightly. “It was a bit scary, I thought something was happening, but you didn’t wake up, so I didn’t try to get out of bed, because the monsters under it could grab my feet and drag me.”

Hyunwoo doesn’t think before reaching towards the kid to caress his hair. Jooheon’s pout immediately fades.

“Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you, okay?” and then he looks at Minhyuk, who instinctively brings the child closer to his chest. “Why were you fighting?”

The blond sighs and looks away for a moment. Jooheon watches them curiously ― Hyunwoo doesn’t think it’s good for the boy to notice the tension in the room, so he gets back to his task of doing pancakes. Minhyuk still takes a minute or two to answer.

“The guys are a bit mad at the whole J – about what happened today.” he finally says, careful not to let slip anything suspicious to the childish ears that hear him. “Gun was upset, and you know how Hoseok can pull strings even when he doesn’t want to. They ended up fighting, Kihyun and I needed to physically restrain them to stop an upcoming disaster, and I think you can imagine how things got down from there. Kihyun convinced Hoseok to go shopping for – uh – you know – to find clothes to Jooheonie, because we have none. Changkyun took Gun for a walk, and I’m almost sure they promised to get back home before dinner. Hyungwon said something about working on a new project for his boss and locked himself in his room, but it’s been almost an hour and he didn’t get out yet, so I think he ended up sleeping.”

Hyunwoo sighs, but doesn’t turn to look at Minhyuk to be sure about how the other feels. Only the younger’s voice gives it away already, and Hyunwoo doesn’t want to take the risk of making the situation worse for him. He decides to keep his focus on Jooheon’s meal, because, if he lets his mind wander, he’ll end up overreacting. (He needs to talk again with Hoseok about hitting on people’s nerves, and with Gunhee about his temper; they can kill each other all they want when they’re out there ― though Hyunwoo would prefere if they _didn’t_ ―, but not under this ceiling, not when they’re making things hard to other people, to their friends.)

“I can talk to them later, if you want.” he offers, his tone apologising, because he knows that part of it is his fault, and he doesn’t want his best friend to be stressed about something he has no control over. “You know, try to make them talk without teasing each other and all.”

Minhyuk scoffs and shakes his head.

 _“You_ would be the one losing your patience, then. They can be very stubborn when they want to be, and you know that.”

Well, it’s true, but it doesn’t mean that Hyunwoo won’t try. He puts the plate of pancakes on the table and sits, tapping the chair at his side, and Minhyuk soon follows, Jooheon awkwardly quiet in his arms. Hyunwoo notices how the boy stares at the food and immediately frowns, gently reaching to rub his shoulder and call his attention.

“Hey. Don’t you like pancakes, Jooheonie?”

The kid presses his lips together in a strange way, almost to the point where they form a perfect heart. Minhyuk’s cooing at the boy’s cuteness, and Hyunwoo can swear that Jooheon’s cheeks are reddening slowly, embarassed by the sudden attention he gets.

“I wanted milk, appa. Can I have milk, please?”

Hyunwoo opens his mouth to answer, but Minhyuk beats him to it.

“Only if you let me hug you.”

Jooheon’s pout disappears, his face filled with confusion when he blinks innocently.

“But you’re already hugging me, hyung.”

Minhyuk laughs at the answer, delighted with such raw honesty, and Hyunwoo watches fondly for a moment while the blond whines about _‘that’s not what I meant, Jooheonie, you gotta hug me back’,_ before standing to pick up the milk, a warm feeling spreading inside his chest.

(That’s not what he was expecting to his day ― _definitely not_ ―, but he can’t say that it’s not good.)

(Well, at least, not for now.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any question/request/desire to talk about anything, you can contact me here, [ tumblr](http://firewasntmadetobeheldinhumanskin.tumblr.com/), [ twitter](https://twitter.com/notmadetobeheld) or [ curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/notmadetobeheld) \o


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